"Procyon's Promise" - читать интересную книгу автора (McCollum Michael)

into that heap on approach.Ф
He shook his head. УIt isnТt as ramshackle as it appears. Look closely. See the
thruster cluster jutting out near the airlock? There are twenty more scattered
over the hull. That hulk and a half dozen others are slaved to theRoostТs
central computer.Ф
УSounds like a lot of trouble to go to for a junkyard,Ф Chryse said.
УItТs part of the service. The hulks make good destinations for clients with a
yen to explore the mysteries of space.Ф
УThe what?Ф
He laughed, his pique suddenly forgotten. УHavenТt you ever skin dived on a
sunken ship?Ф
She shook her head.
УHow about going up to Zeta Deck then? They have a near perfect simulation of
theEsmeralda there. That was a Spanish galleon that sunk off Key West in the
Sixteenth Century. They took sixty million stellars worth of treasure out of her
back in the thirties.Ф
Chryse shook her head. УIТm tired of simulated adventure.Ф
He smiled, turning on the boyish charm. УThatТs the reason for the hulks. They
are the real thing. We could check out two vacsuits at North Pole Terminus and
make a day long picnic of it if you like.Ф
She shook her head. The idea of exploring a twenty-year-old work barge did not
appeal to her, but RolandТs suggestion had tweaked a stray memory. There was
something in solar orbit she would very much like to explore.
УDo they rent ships at North Terminus, as well?Ф
УNo need. The maneuvering gear on the vacsuits is first rate and well
maintained. Oh, theyТll rent you a scooter if you want, but that costs extra.Ф
УI donТt want a scooter. I want a ship! Something with legs.Ф
УItТs expensive.Ф
УI can afford it.Ф
He shrugged. УThere are a few rental jobs at North Terminus. IТm a
fair-to-middlinТ pilot. IТll take you anywhere you want to go.Ф
УNo thank you. Where I want to go, I would rather be alone. Maybe a bit of
solitude will snap me out of this mood IТve fallen into.Ф
УSolo piloting is dangerous.Ф
УIТll be all right,Ф she said. УAfter all, the computer runs the ship. If I get
into trouble, itТll scream for help, wonТt it?Ф
He nodded. УOkay, itТs your neck. YouТll have to sign a release, of course.Ф
УOf course.Ф
УWhere are you going?Ф
УI thought that I would go see the probe.Ф
#
Three hundred years earlier, a spacecraft had entered the solar system from the
depths of interstellar space. Limited two-way communications were established
almost immediately, and it was quickly learned that the craft was an instrument
package controlled by a self-aware computer.
The computer, which called itselfPROBE, had been constructed by an advanced race
of beings, that it dubbed УThe Makers.Ф These Makers had been working to develop
a faster-than-light drive for their spaceships for thousands of years. In all
that vast time, they had been singularly unsuccessful. So, faced with dwindling
resources at home and desperate to break free to the stars, they had hit upon